Returning a Favour
by everlasting.rainbow
Summary: Last time before the chuunin exams, it was her, suprisingly, who had restored his smile and spirit. Can he return the favour this time?


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto *points at a picture of Kishimoto*

Hey guys, it's been a while. School life has been hectic and it's been near impossible to squeeze out spare time these days. Anyway, I've been rereading some of my fanfic stories and well, I got the biggest urge to start writing again. So, voila! I decided to turn this into a one-shot collection. It will be naruhina centric, though I might chuck in a different pairing every now and then.

I've kept Returning a Favour as my first story, however, I have edited it slightly (nothing major, just a few grammatical corrections, bits added and removed etc).

So without further ado, let the naruhina fluffiness begin!

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**Returning a Favour**

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"Thanks for the meal, old man!!"

The ramen shop owner looked up briefly before waving back, a smile on his face. Naruto grinned as he started walking down the nearly empty streets of Konoha. It was already quite late and he had only nipped down to Ichiraku because of his nightly ramen cravings. As usual, he had stuffed himself until he _almost_ felt like he could never eat another bowel in his life. Not that it'd ever happen of course.

Sighing, he decided to take the long way back to his apartment, hoping that the walk would be able to relieve his bloated stomach. The route took him to the outskirts of the town where the training grounds were located, and usually, he tended to avoid this path because it brought back memories – painful memories. Tonight however, perhaps because of the old man's kindness (he had given him _two_ free bowels) and the easy atmosphere in the ramen shop, he decided to revisit the place where he once felt like he'd belonged, felt like he was part of something close to a family.

Approaching the grounds which were marred from the countless slashes of kunai and other weaponry, he noticed a figure sprawled on the rugged earth. Curious, he edged closer. Under the soft moonlight he could make out the dark, navy locks which could only belong to one person…

"Hinata!!"

She didn't stir.

Frowning, he hurried towards her, concern flooding inside him. As he crouched down, he cautiously peered at her face to make sure he had the right person. Last time he had mistaken some guy with dyed hair for Sakura-chan and man, had that been messy. For a moment, he couldn't help but take in the peaceful expression on Hinata's face which was so different to her usual conserved and nervous mannerism. And really, was it just him, or was she always more panicky when he was around?

Bringing himself back from his thoughts, he shook her gently. "Hinata! Wake up!". She stirred slightly, eyes fluttering open. Pale, lavender eyes stared into cerulean blue irises before reality set in. Suddenly registering the situation, shock spread through Hinata's face before she quickly scrambled to get up, surprising Naruto, causing him to lose balance and fall onto his back.

"N-naruto-kun! I'm sorry!"

She leaned down to help him up, hesitantly offering her hand. Grimacing, because he had landed on his butt, he was about to take it when something caught his eye. "Hinata, what happened to your hands?!" he exclaimed, taking them into his. Her knuckles were raw and bloody, as if she had been punching something hard with too much force.

She blushed slightly, quickly retracted her hands from his and hid them behind her back. "Ano, i-its nothing…I was just training." Frowning at the blatant lie, he grabbed her hands again, causing her to wince slightly in pain. "Training?? Looks to me like you were punching the crap out of a training post." She gazed down, hair covering face, as she avoided looking at him.

Not wanting to push on the issue, he sighed and forced her to sit on a nearby rock. He rummaged through the mess in his pouch, before pulling out a jar of ointment and some bandages, much to the protest of his patient, "Naruto-kun! I'll tend to my injuries when I get home!". Ignoring the protests, he proceeded to clean her wounds and apply cream, before neatly wrapping her hands in bandages; vaguely noticing how small and fitting her hands was in his. With a final pull and tug, he stood and admired his handiwork.

"There, all better!" he exclaimed, like a five year old. Despite herself, a small smile cracked on Hinata's face before she murmured a soft 'thank you'. He grinned back, failing to notice the red which spilled across her face, before dropping himself, with the grace of an elephant, onto the ground next to her.

"So Hinata, what's on your mind?"

She glanced up, startled, before looking back down again, staring at the ground. "Ano…its nothing." Naruto scoffed, "You wouldn't be punching something like that if you weren't pissed at something!" She stared at him a bit before a dark look settled over her face. "R-really…it's nothing…"

Naruto frowned. His head was telling him to shut up and not push on the issue, but his conscience was saying that he should do something. Urgh, he really hated situations like this. Normally, he would have left sticky, emotional problems like these alone, but something about the depressed look on Hinata's face made him want to see her smile again. Perhaps it was because she had done the same for him; that time, so long ago, before the chuunin exams, when he had felt lost and hopeless and she, of all people, had been able to cheer him with mere words.

Well, he should try returning the favour, shouldn't he?

But how? He scratched his head as he racked his brain. Ok, so what would _he_ do when he felt a bit blue? The first thought that came to mind was ramen, however, he pushed that thought away. Somehow, he doubted Hinata would feel any better after eating noodles in soup (though how can _anyone _not?!). Clearing his mind from the delicacies of Ichiraku's, he finally settled on a decision. What she need was a different environment – a change of scenery.

Grinning, he grabbed Hinata's wrist, carefully avoiding her injuries. She looked at him, startled and confused, "Naruto-kun?" He started to walk, still holding onto her wrist, "Just follow me, ok?" All she could do was nod.

Where on earth was he taking her?

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They had been walking for half an hour already, and were on the outskirts of Konoha where great, looming trees surrounded them. Naruto was still holding onto her wrist, leading her, guiding her – like he had been doing most of her life, not that he was aware of it. Normally, she would blush furiously at the contact but now, she was hardly aware of his presence, only feeling the soft, comforting grip on her wrist, which was about the only thing that was keeping her from breaking. Her mind was in a daze as she mauled over thoughts and emotions, all tangled in one mess. _Hanabi…_

She was brought back to reality when Naruto stopped in front of a row of narrowly grown trees. For the first time, she noticed their surroundings. They were somewhere in a forest, quite deep in, as she could barely make out the night sky when she looked up. She wondered what the time was, but then again, it didn't matter since no one from home would care. Definitely not after what had happened earlier…

"Hey, Hinata! We're here."

He dropped her wrist, making her miss the secure hold of his slightly calloused hand, before he slipped between the trees. She stared at the spot where he had disappeared; wondering if this was some kind of trick or illusion.

"Come on Hinata!"

Cautiously she stepped between the trees and into a clearing, a gasp escaping from her as she caught sight of what she had entered.

It was a medium sized field with rolling green grass, dotted with wild flowers, and a bubbling creek nearby. However, what had taken away her breath, was the thousands of glowing, glittering balls of light which drifted lazily in the air. One floated close towards her and she realised what it was – a firefly.

"Hinata, you aren't scared of bugs are you?" asked Naruto, sounding worried. She broke from her trance and shook her head; having Shino as a team mate had made her quite immune to the fear of insects. Naruto smiled, glancing around, before quickly cupping his hands over a firefly. He bounced towards her. "Hey, look!" he said excitedly, opening his hands so that there was just enough space to be able to make out the soft, glowing light within. "You know, I've always wondered how that glowing crap got inside the bug," he wondered, wrinkling his nose.

For the first time in a long, long while, she laughed.

It was like a tap had been turned loose and it felt good, like all her burdens and emotions were being released – even if it was for just a while. Naruto grinned sheepishly before releasing the bug. He was glad that she was feeling somewhat better. Grabbing her wrist again, he lead her to a spot beside the creek, where he plopped himself onto the grass and laid down; motioning for Hinata to lie next to him.

Blushing, she hesitantly laid down, a good distance away from him. She looked up at the night sky, which was dotted with twinkling bright dots. _You really can see a lot more stars from here_.

"So, what was bothering you?"

There was silence between them for a few minutes before Hinata spoke.

"My father…wishes to make me the heir to the clan when I turn thirty," she said quietly.

Naruto stared at her. Wasn't that meant to be a good thing? "That's awesome!!" he said enthusiastically. She gave him a small smile before she resumed to staring at the dark sky above, a comforting blanket which wrapped them in their own world, just for this one night.

"However, my father," she hesitated, "wishes to put the cursed seal on my little sister when I become the clan leader"

Naruto felt his blood run cold. The cursed seal…that was the symbol thingy which was etched onto Neji's forehead, wasn't it? The thing that destroyed your brain cells. And to have that done to your own sister? It wasn't something you could accept calmly.

Hinata wished that she could do something about it, had the power to take a firm stand. She had stood up at the meeting, arguing heatedly with her father. There was no way she wanted the cursed seal to be put on _anyone_, let alone her own sister. The siblings may not have been as close as they could have been, but nonetheless, Hanabi was still, and always will be, her sister. They were ties which could not be broken. It was the first time Hinata had stood up against her father and the look on his face was priceless, as were the elders. However, they had simply dismissed her out of the meeting and she was dragged back, literally, to her room.

Too furious to rest, she had escaped from her window and had made her way to the training grounds. It was as if a raging, inextinguishable fire had been lit within her. She was beyond angry, beyond livid. Why? Why couldn't she do _anything_ to save those that were precious to her? Why was she so _weak_? Why couldn't she take a _stand_?

Why couldn't she even tell _one _guy that she liked him?

Before she knew it, she had started smashing the nearest training post, releasing her pent up emotions, ignoring the growing pain in her hands, oblivious to the blood that was forming on her knuckles. Time had come to a standstill as she obliterated the wood before she collapsed, feeling exhausted. And the next thing she knew, she was staring into Naruto's face.

"Hey, Hinata…"

She turned to face the boy next to her. He was staring up at the sky, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Remember what I said to Neji during the chuunin exam?"

"Hai…"

She had missed out on the last part of his fight, however, Neji had given her the details of their fight afterwards – especially about Naruto's fierce declaration.

He turned and grinned, causing her heartbeat to escalate. "I promise you, that I'll change the Hyuuga clan for sure!! You're going to be a strong clan leader right?"

"H-hai…" She hoped that she could be. No, _will_ be.

"Then we'll work together to change the Hyuuga clan!! I'll become the Hokage when you become the clan leader, then we can change the Hyuuga clan for good. So then your sister won't have to receive that stupid seal right?!"

She stared at him.

To someone else who didn't know Naruto, the idea would seem bizarre, far-fetched and utterly unrealistic. But, that's what they all thought when Naruto said he would win against the Hyuuga prodigy in the chuunin exams.

And god, had they been so wrong.

Hinata smiled. "Hai!" she replied firmly.

It was probably then and there that Naruto finally saw Hinata as…well, a _girl. _Not that he had thought that she was a boy, but he had always considered her as just a friend. But now, under the soft moonlight and with the fireflies drifting lazily around them, he noticed for the first time that she was actually quite pretty. Her pale eyes held a surprising amount of warmth and she looked nice when she smiled – a genuine smile, not the shy, unsure ones she usually gave.

Clearing his throat and ignoring the faint blush which fleeted across his face, he turned to stare at the stars again.

A comfortable silence settled between them and with the calm atmosphere, Naruto felt himself dozing off. He was nearly asleep when Hinata's soft voice cut through the darkness.

"Ano…Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah?" he said, words a bit slurred.

"Thank you"

He replied with a sleepy smile.

Hinata hesitated. Should she? Did she dare?

"Naruto-kun? I-if you don't mind…I have one more problem"

"Yup?"

Hinata blushed. "Well, you see…there's this boy that I like…"

He perked up a little. Hinata liked someone?

"You should tell him!"

Hinata swallowed. "But, he seems to like someone else…" she said, trying to keep the sadness from creeping into her voice.

He frowned, "Do you know for sure that he likes her?"

She looked at him. Well, she wasn't sure if he still liked Sakura. They got along well – but shouldn't all teammates be able to do so?

Slowly, she shook her head.

"Well then, you should just tell him. You wouldn't know anything unless you talk to him about it right?"

There was sense in that, but it was easier said than done.

Another silence followed after, as she had an inner battle. Should she tell him? What would happen? What if he looked at her with disgust? What if she lost his friendship? There were thousands of questions but in the end, only one consequence.

It was now or never.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

There was silence and no answer.

Sitting up, she dared to peer at his face.

He had fallen asleep.

Hinata smiled to herself before lying on the grass again, this time, scooting just a tiny bit closer to the slumbering boy. As she closed her eyes, she was faintly aware of the presence next to her. Aware of his warmth, the gentle rhythm of his breath and the faint scent of wind and grass he carried. For now, she was content.

_Maybe…next time. _

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Hope you liked it! Reviews would be appreciated as usual. By the way, since a few people have requested it, the next one-shot after this can be considered a continuation of Returning a Favour. So yes, stay tuned! s2 –


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